News Posts matching "AM3+"

MSI, world leading in motherboard design, debuts the world's first USB 3.1 featured AMD GAMING motherboard, the 990FXA GAMING. Delivering blazing fast USB performance, up to 2 times faster than USB 3.0, the new 990FXA GAMING motherboard offers two USB 3.1 ports, which are fully backwards compatible with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 devices.

Inheriting the outstanding DNA of MSI's award winning GAMING family, the new MSI AM3+ 990FXA GAMING motherboard features Killer LAN for the best online GAMING experience, Audio Boost 2 powered by Creative Sound Blaster Cinema 2 for astonishing sound quality that gives you the upper hand on the battlefield, USB Audio Power and a completely new hardware and software design for enhanced gaming performance. Get ready for high-end AMD GAMING with MSI.

In what is a confirmation that AMD has killed socket AM3+ and its 3-chip platform, a leaked slide that's part of a larger press-deck addressing investors, tells us that the company is planning to launch a high-performance desktop processor targeting enthusiasts, based on its next-generation "Zen" architecture, in 2016. Our older articles detail the Zen CPU core design, and the way in which AMD will build multi-core CPUs with it. This processor will be codenamed "Summit Ridge," and will be a CPU, and not an APU as previously reported. In AMD-speak, what sets a CPU apart from an APU is its lack of integrated graphics.

AMD "Summit Ridge" will be an 8-core CPU built on the 14 nanometer silicon fab process. It will feature eight "Zen" cores, with 512 KB of L2 cache per core, 16 MB of L3 cache, with 8 MB shared between two sets of four cores, each; a dual-channel integrated memory controller that likely supports both DDR3 and DDR4 memory types; and an integrated PCI-Express gen 3.0 root complex, with a total of 22 lanes. We can deduce this from the fact that "Summit Ridge" will be built in the same upcoming socket FM3 package, which the company's "Bristol Ridge" Zen-based APU will be built on. "Summit Ridge" will hence be more competitive with Intel's 6th generation Core "Skylake" processors, such as the i7-6700K and i5-6600K, than the company's "Broadwell-E" HEDT platform.

Some of the first CPUs and APUs based on AMD's next-generation "Zen" micro-architecture could be quad-core. "Zen" will be AMD's first monolithic core design after a stint with multi-core modules, with its "Bulldozer" architecture. Our older article details what sets Zen apart from its predecessor. As expected, in a multi-core chip, Zen cores share no hardware resources with each other, than a last-level cache (L3 cache), much like Intel's current CPU architecture.

There's just one area where Zen will differ from Haswell. With Haswell, Intel has shown that it can clump any number of cores on a chip, and make them share a proportionately large L3 cache. Haswell-E features 8 cores sharing a 20 MB cache. The Haswell-EX features 18 cores sharing 45 MB of cache. With Zen, however, the scale up stops at 4 cores sharing 8 MB of L3 cache. A set of four cores makes up what AMD calls a "quad-core unit." To be absolutely clear, this is not a module, the cores share no hardware components with each other, besides the L3 cache.

In addition to the high bang-for-buck Fatal1ty 970 Performance, ASRock announced one of the very few AMD 9-series chipset based socket AM3+ motherboards in the micro-ATX form-factor, the 970M Pro3. Based on the AMD 970 chipset, and built to be priced well under $99, the 970M Pro3 supports AMD FX processors with TDP of up to 125W (that excludes FX-9000 series). Drawing power from a 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS, the board offers a 5-phase CPU VRM. Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 2.0 x16, one PCIe 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, wired to the southbridge), and one each of PCIe 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity on the 970M Pro3 includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. 6-channel HD audio with ELNA capacitors, gigabit Ethernet, and four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two by header), make for the rest of its modern connectivity. The board is driven by UEFI BIOS.

ASRock unveiled its newest socket AM3+ motherboard for gamers with on a budget, the Fatal1ty 970 Performance. Based on the AMD 970 chipset with SB950 southbridge, this board offers a slick feature-set for its potentially two-figure price. Built in the ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors. An optional 4-pin Molex power connector is required, if you have two cards that rely solely on the expansion slot power. The board features a 10-phase CPU VRM, and supports 220W TDP chips such as the FX-9370 and FX-9590.

Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (x8/x8 when both are populated), a third PCI-Express 2.0 x16, which is electrical x4 and wired to the southbridge, a legacy PCI, and two PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slots. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and an M.2 slot (electrical PCIe 2.0 x4). Other modern connectivity includes six USB 3.0 ports (four on the rear panel, two by headers), an electrically-reinforced Fatal1ty Mouse port, ASRock Purity Sound 2 on-board audio with a 115 dBA SNR CODEC, audio-grade electrolytic capacitors, headphones amp, and ground-layer isolation, and gigabit Ethernet (Realtek-made controller). The board is driven by UEFI BIOS, and supports Windows 8.1 features such as Secure Boot and Fast Boot. Expect this board to be priced at $99.

In an industry presentation on why the company is excited about Microsoft's upcoming DirectX 12 API, AMD revealed its most important feature that could impact on not only its graphics business, but also potentially revive its CPU business among gamers. DirectX 12 will make its debut with Windows 10, Microsoft's next big operating system, which will be given away as a free upgrade for _all_ current Windows 8 and Windows 7 users. The OS will come with a usable Start menu, and could lure gamers who stood their ground on Windows 7.

In its presentation, AMD touched upon two key features of the DirectX 12, starting with its most important, Multi-threaded command buffer recording; and Asynchronous compute scheduling/execution. A command buffer is a list of tasks for the CPU to execute, when drawing a 3D scene. There are some elements of 3D graphics that are still better suited for serial processing, and no single SIMD unit from any GPU architecture has managed to gain performance throughput parity with a modern CPU core. DirectX 11 and its predecessors are still largely single-threaded on the CPU, in the way it schedules command buffer.

GIGABYTE introduced its latest socket AM3+ motherboard, and its first in a long while, the 990XA-UD3 R5. Built in the standard ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, and conditions it using a 10-phase CPU VRM. The board, however, does not support FX-9000 series chips. Based on AMD 990X chipset, featuring AMD SB950 southbridge, expansion slots of the board include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (x8/x8 when both are populated), supporting NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX, a third PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (electrical x4, wired to the southbridge), and two each of PCIe 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI slots.

Storage connectivity on the 990XA-UD3 R5 include six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. The board's onboard audio solution features a Realtek ALC1150 CODEC, offering 115 dBA SNR, audio-grade electrolytic capacitors on the audio circuit, a TI-made headphones amplifier with support for headphones impedance as high as 600Ω, and PCB ground-layer isolation. Also on offer are a gigabit Ethernet connection, driven by a Realtek-made controller, four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two by headers), and PS/2 mouse/keyboard combo port. The board is driven by AMI UEFI BIOS, and supports Windows 8 SecureBoot and FastBoot. Expect this board to be priced around US $130.

With the new 402 cooler from the Performance C series Xilence presents a compact, yet very powerful cooler for powerful multi-core processors. The small and very silent cooler comes in the classical tower design, and convinces with extremely powerful heatpipes and its innovative rib design. That ensures a low speed of the 92mm fan and therefore a very low noise level. The heat transfer between CPU and cooler is due to the direct contact of heatpipes to the CPU extremely efficient and very smooth. The A402 and the I402 will be available from May for 14,90 Euro (MSRP).

Japanese cooling expert Scythe announces a new revision of its Kodati CPU Cooler. Scythe is one of the first manufacturers to announce a special solution to the market for the socket AM1 (FS1b). Users have finally the chance to exchange the stock AM1 CPU cooler against the much more powerful Kodati Rev. B. The new revision furthermore inherits the socket support to the common sockets from AMD and Intel, which is very typical for Scythe products.

Scythe Kodati CPU Cooler aims specifically at the HTPC and Mini-ITX market, where size and weight is crucial. Thanks to its total heights of mere 34 millimeters and weight of 180 grams, Kodati Rev. B CPU cooler is able to fit to basically every compact system. This has been achieved by implementing the Stealth Fan Mounting Structure (S.F.M.S), where the pre-installed fan is located between the aluminum fin-structure and copper-baseplate. Fast heat dissipation is assured thanks to the two copper-heatpipes with 6 mm thickness. Users are able to control the supplied 80 mm fan in the range between 800 and 3.300 RPM thanks to the PWM support. The airflow varies between 10,2 and 42,2 m3/h (6,0~24,82 CFM), depending on the fan speed. The specified noise level during operation starts at inaudible 8,2 dBA and goes up to merely audible 32.5 dBA.

BIOSTAR has released an AMD socket AM3+ motherboard, the TA970 Plus with AMD OverDrive and the ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration) feature. This AMD 970 chipset board supports AMD multi-Core (x8, x6) and Socket AM3 processors including the AMD FX/ Phenom II and Athlon II versions. This is a powerful platform for gamers and enthusiasts.

The TA970 Plus is a full sized ATX board with 4 DDR3 DIMM slots and mSATA/Mini PCI-E combo connector. It supports SATA 6Gb/s speeds, which are two times the speed of current SATA 3G. Of course there is USB 3.0 support as well. Powerful graphics are supported with AMD's CrossfireX capability. To get every power advantage the TA970 Plus features the AMD OverDrive and the ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration) function. This allows power users to overclock their system by precisely calibrating the clock timings between the processor and RAM chips. These timings are critical in maintaining system stability when overclocking, otherwise you will end up with a system that crashes often. As they say, "Timing is Everything" and the TA970 Plus allows you to get it right.

EK Water Blocks, Ljubljana based premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is proud to introduce EK-Supremacy MX - a brand new cost-reduced variant of EK-Supremacy EVO flagship performance water block, introduced in 2014. It has been designed to lower the production costs yet still offer premium hydraulic- and thermal performance at the best price.

EK-Supremacy MX is a reduced cost CPU water block, available in both AMD as well as Intel variants, which comes with pre-assembled, error-preventing mounting mechanism. The result is a perfect installation which results in optimal performance every time. "Since the release of EK-Supremacy EVO our main task was to bring the same performance level to the entry class", said Niko Tivadar, Chief Technology Officer at EK Water Blocks.

Xigmatek announced the TYR-SD962, its latest entry-level CPU cooler. Featuring a conventional tower-type heatsink design, the cooler is made of a base that doubles up as a tiny heatsink, from which two 6 mm thick copper heat pipes pass, making direct contact with the CPU. The heat pipes convey heat to an aluminium fin-stack, which is ventilated by a 92 mm fan. Xigmatek bundles a 9225 fluid-dynamic bearing fan, which takes in PWM control, spins between 1,200 and 2,800 RPM, with a noise output of up to 28 dBA. Measuring 65 mm x 85 mm x 121 mm (excluding the fan), the heatsink weighs 310 g. It's game for thermal loads of up to 100W, and is compatible with LGA1150, FM2+, and AM3+ (95W TDP or below only).

DeepCool launched the Captain series of liquid AIO CPU Coolers, under its GamerStorm brand. The series debuts with the Captain 120, featuring a 120 x 120 mm radiator; and the Captain 240, featuring a 240 x 120 mm one. The cooler is characterized by a unique pump-block design that lets you visualize the coolant flow. The pump-block's design appears to be in-line with that of DeepCool's SteamCastle series of cases. Its block features a copper 0.2 mm micro-fin lattice. A 120 mm FDB fan with PWM control, is included, and ventilates the radiator. The cooler supports all modern CPU socket types, including LGA2011v3, LGA1150, AM3+, and FM2+. The company didn't reveal pricing.

AMD made three additions to its FX-8300 series eight-core socket AM3+ processors, along with adjustments to the series' overall pricing. The company launched a new performance-segment part, the FX-8370, along with two energy-efficient eight-core chips, the FX-8370E, and the FX-8320E. The FX-8370 features the same 4.00 GHz nominal clock speed as the FX-8350, but a tiny bit higher TurboCore frequency of 4.30 GHz, compared to the latter's 4.20 GHz. This chip is priced at US $199.

The FX-8370E, on the other hand, features the same maximum TurboCore frequency of 4.30, but its nominal clock speed is much lower, at 3.30 GHz. Not all cores run at TurboCore frequency simultaneously. The FX-8320E features a maximum TurboCore frequency of 4.00 GHz, same as that of the FX-8320, but a lower nominal clock speed, of 3.20 GHz. Both these two parts feature rated TDP of 95W, compared to 125W of the other parts in the series.

AMD is planning to launch its next performance-segment CPUs alongside its Radeon R9 285 graphics card; the FX-8370 and its energy-efficient variant, the FX-8370E. Based on the 32 nm "Vishera" silicon, the FX-8370 is an eight-core socket AM3+ processor, featuring out of the box clock speeds of 4.10 GHz, with TurboCore frequencies of 4.30 GHz. The standard variant features 125W TDP, while the FX-8370E features 95W. The two will sell at the same price-points as the FX-8350. The FX-8370E will sell at a slight premium.

AMD is preparing to expand its performance-segment socket AM3+ processor lineup, steering clear of the 220W TDP of its FX-9000 series. The two chips are the FX-8370, and the FX-8370E. The FX-8370 will likely replace the FX-8350 around the $180 mark; while the FX-8370E will be its energy-efficient variant. Both chips offer clock speeds of 4.10 GHz, with 4.30 GHz TurboCore frequencies. While the FX-8370 has a rated TDP of 125W, the FX-8370E features 95W, without a reduction in clock speeds. The FX-8370E could hence come at a slight premium.

Both the FX-8370 and FX-8370E are eight-core processors based on the 32 nm "Vishera" silicon, featuring four "Piledriver" CPU modules that have 2 MB of L2 cache each, and 8 MB of L3 cache shared between the four modules. The chips feature dual-channel DDR3 integrated memory controllers, with native support for DDR3-1866 MHz, and 5.2 GT/s HyperTransport 3.1 system bus. Instruction-sets include AVX, AES, SSE4.2, FMA3, and XOP. The chips will run on all existing socket AM3+ motherboards, with some needing BIOS updates.

In addition to its new A-series APUs, AMD announced two new CPUs, the Athlon 860K, and the FX-8300. Built in the FM2+ package, the Athlon 860K is a quad-core CPU based on the 28 nm "Kaveri" silicon, with its integrated graphics disabled. It features four "Steamroller" CPU cores clocked at 3.70 GHz, with an unlocked base-clock multiplier that enables overclocking. The two modules that make up the four cores feature half their normal L2 cache amounts, and so the total L2 cache is just 2 MB. The chip will run on socket FM2+ motherboards based on the A88X, A85, A75, and A55 chipsets. The FX-8300, on the other hand, is a budget eight-core processor in the AM3+ package. It's based on the 32 nm "Vishera" silicon, featuring eight CPU cores spread across four "Piledriver" modules; clocked at 3.20 GHz, with 3.50 GHz of Turbo Core frequencies. The chips feature 2 MB of L2 cache per module, and 8 MB of shared L3 cache. Its TDP is rated at 95W.

MSI, world leading in motherboards, debuts its first AMD AM3+ socket based GAMING motherboard, the MSI 970 GAMING. Inherited with the outstanding DNA of MSI's award winning GAMING family, the new MSI AM3+ 970 GAMING motherboard features Killer LAN for the best online GAMING experience, Audio Boost 2 powered by Creative Sound Blaster Cinema2 for astonishing sound quality that gives you the upper hand on the battlefield, USB Audio Power and a whole new hardware and software design for enhanced gaming performance. Get ready for high end AMD GAMING with MSI.

Whether you are a casual or pro-gamer, network lag kills. MSI GAMING motherboards feature Killer high-performance networking and provide the highest level of control and networking speed for video streaming and gaming. A Smooth, stutter-free network is a must in today's world of on-line gaming, where a single packet of network data can make the difference between a win or a loss, Killer makes sure that it arrives.

ASRock updated its Fatal1ty branded socket AM3+ motherboard. The new ASRock 990FX Fatal1ty Killer gives AMD platform gamers most advancements in onboard connectivity. To begin with, the board is based on the AMD 990FX chipset, with SB950 southbridge. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and conditions it for the CPU with a 10-phase VRM. The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2400 memory.

Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 wired to the AMD 990FX northbridge, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4) wired to the southbridge; and two PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slots. Storage connectivity includes five SATA 6 Gb/s, and one M.2, with a combination of PCIe 2.0 x2 and SATA 6 Gb/s link layers. The board features Realtek's latest ALC1150 HDA CODEC, which boasts of 115 dBA SNR; equipped with ground-layer isolation, and a headphones amp. Wired networking is care of a Broadcom Killer E2200 controller. Four USB 3.0 ports, and gaming peripheral-optimized USB 2.0 ports (stabilized power); make for the rest of it. The board is driven by AMI Aptio UEFI BIOS, supporting Windows 8 Secure Boot.

Sapphire's Atomic brand often sprung up some surprising products in the VGA space, including some of the very first graphics cards with factory-fitted liquid-cooling solutions. Its latest creation is the Atomic 990FX, a socket AM3+ motherboard in the ATX form-factor, with a full-coverage water-block. "Full coverage and motherboards?" you ask? Yes! This board features a full-coverage block that features coolant channels that pass through not just the CPU, but also CPU VRM, and the chipset. It features three PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots, four DDR3 DIMM slots, six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, gigabit Ethernet, and 8-channel audio.

MSI unveiled its first socket AM3+ motherboard bearing its coveted Gaming Series badge, the 970 Gaming. Based on AMD 970 chipset with SB950 southbridge, the board offers most modern gaming features for the AM3+ platform. It supports FX "Vishera" eight-core processors. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, and features a strong 8-phase CPU VRM that's cooled by a massive heatsink. The AM3+ socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2400 MHz memory.

Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (x8/x8 when both are populated), and two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. There are four USB 3.0 ports on offer. Things get interesting with its Qualcomm Killer E2200 gaming-optimized wired NIC, the same one featured on its flagship Z97 Gaming 9 AC; and Audio Boost HD audio, which features a 115 dBA SNR CODEC, ground-layer isolation, a 600Ω headphones amp, electrolytic capacitors, and gold-plated jacks. MSI didn't disclose pricing.

Look ma, no chipset! The first wave of AMD socket FS1b motherboards, for the company's A-Series "Kabini" APUs were displayed at the 2014 International CES, where they pulled good-eyed visitors that spotted motherboards that have CPU sockets but lack any form of core logic. That's because "Kabini" completely integrates the chipset. It turns out that AMD has decided to brand the socket - so far referred to as FS1b - as socket AM1. The socket is in no way compatible (even pin-compatible, or similarly sized) as AM2, AM3, and AM3+, on which AMD's processors have been sold for the bulk of the last 8-odd years.

With the chipset completely integrated into the APU silicon, the socket is left with pins for the memory, PCI-Express, display, SATA, power, and other legacy I/O interfaces. Among the first "Kabini" APUs that AMD plans to launch are the quad-core A4-5350, with 1.60 GHz clock speed, 2 MB of cache, and 25W TDP; the A4-3850, with slightly lower 1.30 GHz clocks; and E1-2650, with its dual-core 1.45 GHz CPU, 1 MB cache, and 15W TDP.

AMD released developer documentation for a new processor it's working on, and the way it's worded describes a chip with 8 modules, working out to 16 cores, on a single piece of silicon, referred to as Family 15h Models 30h - 3fh. This is not to be confused with the company's Opteron 6300-series "Abu Dhabi" chips, which are multi-chip modules of two 8-core dies, in the G34 package.

What's more, unlike the current "Abu Dhabi" and "Seoul" chips, the new silicon features a full-fledged uncore, complete with a PCI-Express gen 3.0 root complex that's integrated into the processor die. In what's more proof that it's a single die with 8 modules and not an MCM of two dies with 4 modules each, the document describes the die as featuring four HyperTransport links; letting it pair with four other processors in 4P multi-socket configurations. Such systems would feature a total core count of 64. There's no clarity on which exact micro-architecture the CPU modules are based on. Without doubt, AMD is designing this chip for its Opteron enterprise product stack, but it should also give us a glimmer of hope that AMD could continue to serve up high-performance client CPU, only ones that can't be based on socket AM3+.

MSI rolled out the 760GMA-P34FX, a cost-effective socket AM3+ motherboard in the micro-ATX form-factor, designed with out of the box support for AMD FX "Vishera" processors. Based on the dated AMD 760 chipset with SB710 southbridge, the motherboard still offers modern connectivity, such as SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0, but using third-party controllers.

Drawing power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 4-pin CPU power connectors, the 760GMA-P34FX offers two DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory. A PCI-Express 2.0 x16, a PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI slot make up its expansion area. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 3 Gb/s ports (from the SB710 southbridge), and two SATA 6 Gb/s ports (from an ASMedia ASM1061 controller). Display connectivity includes one each of DVI and D-Sub. The board offers four USB 3.0 ports, two on the rear panel, two by headers. 6-channel HD audio, and gigabit Ethernet make for the rest of the connectivity. Expect this one to be light on your wallet. Really light.

AMD is inching toward a possible post-x86 future for itself, beginning with its enterprise product stack. In a blog-post, the company outlined a landmark product bearing its enterprise Opteron branding, codenamed "Seattle," which will be designed for scalar data-centers. Based on the 64-bit ARMv8 architecture by ARM, the chip will feature either four or eight cores based on AMD's own implementation of ARMv8, and a high-bandwidth integrated memory controller with support for up to 128 GB of system memory with ECC.

Since ARM-based processors are traditionally part of heavily integrated systems on chips (SoCs), "Seattle" will be an SoC, and among other things, will integrate a 10 Gb/s Ethernet controller, with support for AMD's FreedomFabric technology. Linux kernel 3.7 and above will come with ARMv8 architecture support, and Microsoft is already developing a Windows kernel with ARMv8 support that will be implemented on both its client (Windows RT, Windows Phone) product lines, and a future version of Windows Server. That said, AMD won't give up on x86. As the only active x86 licensee apart from VIA, AMD will continue to make APUs with 64-bit x86 cores for as far as the eye can see (in other words 2015). Future of its client CPU (non-APU) lineup based on the AM3+ socket, however, appears bleak.Source: AMD